When Angels and Hollows Dance
by Majin Prince
Summary: When the will to protect sends him to an eternity of fire, can he still fight and protect the ones he left behind? Or will his absent memory lead to failure? Can Ichigo fight back and gain the chance to live? And love? A/U Ichigo/Orihime
1. Enter Hollow

A/N: Hello Bleachverse and welcome to my first Bleach story. I have been up and down in Dragon Ball Z and I thought I would give a hand at one of my top five favorite manga's. And on a side note this will be my first attempt at doing honorifics and all that fun stuff so if I fail at it please let me know in the kindest way possible. Now enough about me, summary time!

This story is an A/U and so I will explain. No Soul Reapers, No Hollows, it is an alternate reality basically. To get what this story really is you're going to have to read it I'm afraid. It is about a man's will to protect, and protecting those he cares about most but will it be enough to break the chains off him? Ready? On with the story.

Oh and normally I try to stay away from this kind of thing because it seems second rate and childish but I will put up a few songs that was inspired by each chapter. Oh and I do not own those either.

Songs: Along the Way by Bad Religion, Last Rites/Loved to Deth by Megadeth, In My Time of Dying by Led Zeppelin.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, any of its characters, or ideas. All those belong to the great Tite Kubo.

Enter Hollow

Darkness, the black of night. The midnight sun gone and in the darkness people find their true selves. The ability to see was long past gone and the ability to think left shortly after that. It was just a void in all vision, thought, hearing, even feeling. The loss of everything just left a great void, a nonexistent being.

In an uninhabited area of the world where rock and dirt were plenty lay a single body. This body had yet to move, just lying lifeless like the rocks. In a flash of light a body jolted upright in a fit of shakes. The individual had yet to open his eyes as the light was too bright. His entire being ached as he struggled to stay up. He felt as if he was having a heart attack. A shaky hand left it's job as a support beam for his body and went up to feel his heart. His body shook and cold sweat came down his neck as his hand reached its destination. His head tilted downwards as his eyes slowly opened.

The pain of the light hit him full force, like a newborn opening its eyes for the first time, he immediately shut his eyes after opening them. However, a few seconds later his eyes opened once more as he looked to confirm his fears. When his eyes became fully adjusted to the light he opened them wide and looked on in horror, as his hand was above a hole in the middle of his chest.

He dropped his hand and stared on into the hole in his chest. It was a fairly large hole and it went right through where his heart was supposed to be. His breathing suddenly went into quick pants as he grabbed his head in pain. Once his fingers touched his head he froze once more. He cautiously, and carefully, trailed a single finger from his right hand down the side of his face. He didn't feel soft skin, no, instead he felt the hardness of bone. He stopped his hesitant touch and grabbed his face with both hands and felt the protruding bone that covered his entire face. He dropped his head and his hands fell to his knees.

It seemed as though he was dead, or close to it, yet he remained in this open, rocky terrain with no one to come for him. He felt like the last person on earth, alone with his problems. This man was confused as to why these things were wrong with him, but he had a bigger problem.

He couldn't recall his name. Not only that but he couldn't recall a single memory. His mind was blank from everything except has happened from when he woke up. He didn't even know if the hole in his chest was natural or not. He could not recall if he even had a face or if the bone covering his entire face was normal. Hell, he didn't even know what normal was.

Just as soon as he was about to get up and start wandering, a figure came up to him. He barely registered the figure until it was right in front of him. He looked up slowly to see something he was sure was not normal. Standing tall was a dark cloaked figure that had smoke coming off it. There was no face, just darkness under the hood that concealed the figure along with two dark red dots for eyes. The ground that it walked on turned to ice and the sun was instantly gone, covered by the darkest clouds ever imagined. The temperature dropped to below freezing yet the man felt as if he would be burnt alive.

"Stand," the word left no room for arguments. The voice was deep yet it sounded as if someone were hissing like a snake. The man didn't immediately stand up but as he hesitated it felt like he was rising without his knowledge. Now on his feet, the man stared at the figure.

"What do you remember?" The figure asked. The man was unsure if he should talk to this thing but there was no other options, given his condition. The chill down his spine and the gut feeling that this was someone he didn't want to be around, let alone talk to, was ignored by the desperation of needing answers.

"Nothing." The man said in a low voice. He noted how his voice sounded disfigured in a way, as if his vocal cords were damaged and created an unneeded vibration after each word. The figure gave a slight nod of the head and continued.

"Good… you have been sleeping for quite a while, I almost gave up on you. Allow me to introduce myself, I am the Devil." The figure, who is the Devil, let the words hang in the air.

"The Devil?" The man was horribly confused, he felt that he should know what that means. The name didn't sound good but the man didn't know what good even was.

"Yes… it seems the total mind erase worked. I am the ultimate evil. When people who forsake themselves die they go to me and spend an eternity in Hell." The Devil summed up for the man.

"Hell?" He was slowly processing each thing he heard but what he caught was the mind erase comment. So this Devil knew that his mind was blank and that he liked it. He decided to play along before asking who he was.

"Hell is an eternity of suffering for those who die and get cast to me. And sometimes, if the will is stronger than the soul, they become a part of my servitude which is why you are here with no name, no memory, a hole in your heart, and a mask on your face." The Devil pointed out.

The man slowly brought a hand up to his face and felt his mask. It covered his entire face besides his eyes. Everything was starting to worry him more and more. And everything made sense less and less. This Devil was an evil creature and now it wanted something to do with him. Not only that but he had just said that he was forced to serve this Devil. "What are you saying?" The man said in an unsure tone.

The Devil stood up to his full height reaching almost seven feet. "You are dead. No longer apart of the living realm and yet you can still prove yourself useful. Your will stayed connected to the living world because you could not let go, and in the end you could not go into Paradise, or Heaven. Which is where all the souls of those who do good go. From the moment you died your soul was mine. However, considering how strong your soul and will to go on is, I have made a decision." The Devil reached behind his back and pulled out a large silver and black blade with no guard, no hilt, and wrapped in a long white cloth.

The Devil threw the sword at the ground of the man's feet. In doing so the cloth loosened a bit and the gleam of the blade came out and revealed the man's reflection. He stared into it to see that he was indeed wearing a mask. A mask that was pure white with several red lines on the side of the mask and menacing looking fangs over where his mouth should be. His eyes gleamed in a yellow black spectrum and his hair was bright orange. He was dressed in a loose fitting black Shihakusho. His mask made even him stare in frightened amazement. He stared for several seconds before looking back at the Devil.

"You are a demon, not just any demon but my own personal soldier demon." The Devil slowly lifted a claw like finger towards the demon. He took a step back hoping that it wasn't a sign for an attack. "You will work for me, gathering evil souls and damning them. Also you will find and destroy any souls that escape from my realm." The Devil's finger dropped down and pointed to the sword. "This blade is a manifestation of the power in you, bought out through your soul. Use it to destroy any and all of my enemies. Do that, and I shall restore your soul."

The demon looked from his hands to the blade. To say that he was confused was an understatement. If he heard everything correctly, than he has just been recruited to work for the Devil without a choice. He knew that he couldn't trust this Devil but, all things considered, what choice did he have? He didn't, he knew he would not like it but for now he was going to work for the Devil.

"You don't have to answer." The demon looked up hurriedly to see the Devil walking away, taking the freezing temperature with him. "I knew you would do it before I came here."

The demon took a step forward and quickly shouted. "Wait! Wh-What is my name!?"

The Devil stopped and slowly turned. "Name? You no longer have a name. That is beneath you. But I suppose I do have to call you something so you will be… the Hollow."

Hollow's eyes widened as the dark clouds and the Devil disappeared in the blink of an eye. The demon looked all around until he was sure that he was alone. 'What the hell is that thing?' The demon asked himself. He knew instantly that the Devil controlled a power he couldn't hope to have. So his choices were few and he knew it. He looked back down at the blade and went to pick it up. As he reached down he heard laughter. His head snapped up and looked all around once more. "Who is there?" He asked wearily.

He was met with complete silence. He stood there silently for several minutes making sure he was alone before reaching back down for the sword. When he touched the blade he was met with a flood of knowledge that didn't stay for very long. His eyes went wide as for a split second he saw a name in all the confusion that went through his mind. "Zangetsu," he mumbled the name he saw in his mind as he picked up the giant sword like it weighed nothing. Once it was off the ground something fell from it and hit the ground. Hollow cocked his head to the side and looked curiously at the item. It looked like a large pendant with a weird skull on the front. As he looked at it the eyes glowed for a moment before returning to normal. There was also a small rope hanging from the pendant, badge, whatever it was.

He slowly reached down and picked it up, wrapping the tie on his belt, and proceeding with placing the giant blade on his back. Once he got comfortable with the heavy blade on his back he began walking in no particular direction, just that way. It's not like the Devil gave him any specifics.

* * *

The demon, known as Hollow, didn't know how long he had been walking but long enough for it to go from day to night. He had kept on walking in one direction and finally made it to a major city. He found out that the people did not see him and walked right though him like he was invisible. No, he IS invisible. After all how can you see a dead guy?

After venturing into the city Hollow found himself on top of a stone building looking out into a busy street as cars sped by and people went on with their lives. It was all very interesting to the demon as this is his first time being around other people, well that he can remember. It was all new to experience, the sounds, smells, and thoughts. From what the Devil said he did live a life, one that he can no longer remember. Speaking of which the Devil was being very cryptic with what he wanted him to do. There was no specific target, but he counted that as a good thing for now.

Watching these human interactions left Hollow even more confused and he was filled with so many questions. Most importantly he was left with the biggest mystery of all. Why was his mind wiped of everything, and who was he? It didn't make sense for him to be totally missing everything, like the way things worked, including humans. And why take away his name?

The more he thought about it the more he got a headache. He then just focused on his situation. Apparently he was the Devil's bounty hunter and the price was many souls for his own. The Devil hadn't said that but Hollow got a feeling that the situation was like that.

The demon sat atop a perch on the stone and brick building looking out into a small alleyway as night came swiftly. He felt bored and took out the skull badge he was, apparently, given. It didn't seem like it had any purpose or did anything except stare back at him. He was about to drop it on the ground when a commotion caught his attention. He turned his head to the side to see a man and a young girl running around the corner.

It was a fairly large man and a young girl and they seemed to be fighting. Hollow absently leaned forward and watched. This was the first time he was seeing conflict and violence and it deeply interested him. He watched as the young girl, who couldn't be more than 16, was trying desperately to fight away the larger man who was beating her. For some reason he felt enticed with the fighting. It was making him edgy and wanting to jump in. He desperately fought down this feeling and kept back.

The demon looked around them and found no one around. Was there no one to assist the obviously defenseless person, was that how people were? The more he watched the more he questioned people in general. Like why fight someone who obviously could not fight back? And why was there no one watching this incident except for him? Many questions.

The large man took out a knife and slashed the girl's throat making her drop to the ground with very few breaths left. Hollow stared on in anticipation and confusion. Suddenly the badge in his left hand started beeping quite loudly. His head snapped back to it and stared into the eyes of it. The eyes on the skull glowed bright and the demon felt pulled into a trance. All at once he knew what to do.

He remembered how to fight. It was like his inner self was awake again, even if it was just for this instant. His instinct kicked in and he was relieved that something about him had yet to die. Hollow reached to his back, with his right hand, and pulled off the large sword as the wrapping came off it, revealing the gleam of the blade. Then he jumped down right behind the man and the dying girl.

The man had heard his fall and jumped around quickly. The man seemed to see him and took a fearful step backward. His eyes showed instant fear when he took one look at the evil mask. "W-who are you?" He said holding up his knife. "I ain't scared of ya, you hear?"

The demon didn't register the fact he wasn't invisible anymore as he took a step forward and raised up his long blade so that it reflected in the light. The man took another fearful step backward seeing the massive blade this crazy guy with a mask was carrying. The demon's eyes were hungry and they flashed every which way, sizing up his opponent and the terrain of the battlefield.

"You," the demon said taking another step, raising his left hand, with the badge still in it, and pointing his index finger at the man. "Guilty," he then held up the badge as the glowing eyes connected with the man's eyes. "Off to Hell." The man came back to reality and charged at the demon. He plunged his small knife deep into Hollow's abdomen and smirked with victory.

His smirk vanished when he heard the disoriented laughter that came from beneath the mask. Hollow reached forward and grabbed the man's collar and pulled him to his mask. Tears poured down the man's cheeks as he stared into the demon's eyes. Hollow looked at him for a while before narrowing his eyes. He dropped the man who collapsed to his knees. "I'm disappointed." He said simply, pulling the knife out of his stomach.

He let the small knife drop to the ground and in a puff of white smoke his wound was healed. No scar or blood was to be found on him. The demon let out a low growl and raised up Zangetsu. The man fell back in fear as Hollow slammed the giant blade into the ground. The whole area shook and cracks in the ground formed from the sheer power of forcing a sword into the ground.

The demon left his sword and knelt in front of the man. He extended his left hand which held the badge. The man fell into a trance and the eyes glowed on the skull. Slowly the man began to fade away until there was nothing left of him. A crackle of thunder echoed in the distance as the demon was the only one that remained. He looked at the spot the man once was then at the badge. The glow in the eyes of the skull slowly started to fade but he heard a whisper. "The soul belongs to me." Hollow knew where he had heard that voice from. It was the Devil telling him a job well done, more or less.

He shrugged and tucked the badge inside of his Shihakusho and looked down at the dying girl a few feet away. He left his sword in its place in the ground and slowly walked over to her. He knelt down beside her and looked her over. She seemed so small, humans seemed so fragile to him after this. It was such a complex thing for him to understand how they live so recklessly with such weak lives.

He saw a tear fall out of the girl's eye before they closed and she exhaled one final time. Hollow sat there and pondered what would happen to her. An instant later a see through version of the same girl was standing next to him by her dead body. The girl looked at him then her body and quietly asked. "Are you an angel?"

Hollow tilted his head to the side. 'Angel? What is that?' He thought. Before he could say anything, however, a beam of light extended from the sky. It was a pure white light that blinded the demon as he looked on. He raised a hand over his eyes to shield him from the pureness of the light. It had felt like it almost hurt him.

Out from the light came a short figure. The small figure stepped forward and towards the girl who was unaffected from the light. Hollow slowly lowered his arm as the bright light faded. He looked on to see a very short girl with medium length ebony hair and violet eyes. She was wearing a black Shihakusho very similar to his own and a sword was on her waist. He stared at her in confusion and wonder.

The girl went over to the spirit of the dead girl and smiled. She opened her mouth to speak but one glance at Hollow and her face hardened. She took the other girl's hand and jumped back, drawing her weapon. "Why are you here?" She demanded.

Hollow stood up and looked over his shoulder seeing if there was anyone behind him. He looked back at the short girl and pointed a finger at himself, just below the hole in his chest. "Me?" He asked in confusion.

The girl looked at him perplexed. She shook it off and pointed the tip of her sword at him. "Yes you, demon, are you here for the girl's soul?"

Again, the demon tilted his head apparently not getting what she was saying. After a moment, and staring at her threatening posture, he slowly reached for his weapon and yanked it out of the ground. The girl with the sword clenched her teeth and was prepared for a strike when the demon disappeared. She scanned over the alleyway but found nothing. Her head jerked up to see the demon standing on top of the building. His figure only visible in the moonlight.

"I have no intention of fighting you, so go, and leave me be." The demon turned and disappeared into the night.

The girl shook out of the daze of what had just happened and turned her attention to the spirit of the dead girl. "Who was that?" She asked timidly.

The girl sighed as she returned her blade to its sheath. "That was a demon. Not just any demon but one of the more powerful ones that can come to the living world to steal people's souls."

The dead girl nodded silently before asking: "And who are you?"

She smiled. "I am an angel, my name is Rukia Kuchiki and I am here to take you to Heaven." She extended her hand to the dead girl which she took. They both walked into the bright light that had reappeared and left the night.

In the shadows of a window across the way sat Hollow. He had left but stayed within hearing distance. He looked at the spot they had vanished from and pondered what he had heard. 'Angel,' he thought. 'So that is what an angel is, and she wanted to fight me, but why? Have I done something wrong?'

His gaze never left the spot as he jumped down and walked over to it. He saw the dead body of the girl remain but he knew that she was gone. He stood a long while pondering over what had happened. Many things didn't make sense to him but slowly questions were answering themselves.

He turned and began walking down the street into the dead of the night. But, he was already accustomed to darkness.

* * *

Fin.

A/N: So a slow start yes but I promise you that things will become clear and you will see everything that I have done makes sense… I hope. Anyway I guess there is no real mystery as to who the demon is but plot wise he has no name… yet. Now this isn't some religion fic to try and sway anyone it is just a different spin on how Bleach really is so don't accuse me of anything. And if you noticed this particular chapter wasn't too in depth and such but that is because I needed that in the first chapter because the big thing behind this is the whole mystery to it but future chapters will be more detailed with each character's feelings and backstory and such.

Anyway leave me a review to tell me if you love it, hate it, like it or don't like it. Thanks for reading.


	2. Soundless Sky

A/N: Well here is chapter 2 and the point where things start to make sense… a little. And this story will have an eventual couple but I am going to be tight-lipped about it for now but next chapter I will reveal who it is. Anyway please leave a review and let me know what you think.

Songs: N.I.B. by Black Sabbath, Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd, My Last Words by Megadeth.

Disclaimer: Chapter 1

Soundless Sky

The empty room gave way to a somewhat eerie feeling. It was lit but that didn't get rid of the dark feeling that presented itself. It was like watching a horror movie in the daytime, it did little to comfort your nerves.

Rukia Kuchiki sat in the big office room awaiting her meeting. After she had returned from bringing a soul to heaven she had been greeted with a message that the head captain wanted to see her. It was never a good thing to see the head captain.

Rukia was a member of the Angel Army and not a seated officer. So her job was to go into the world of the living to pick up souls and bring them to Heaven. She had been doing so the past forty years. The army of angels was there to defend innocent souls against the demons that tried to take or devour them.

The angels were masters of spiritual pressure which came from souls that were strong and had room for improvement. They would be drafted into the army and sent into a training academy to become powerful beings wielding the spiritual arts.

The strongest of these were the lieutenants and captains of the army. They each controlled their own division and had their own duties, depending on the division. Each angel also had their own zanpakuto or soul cutter. It was a sword that manifested itself from the angel. Depending on the person each zanpakuto was different.

The leader of the first division was known as the head captain, the leader of all the other captains and angels and he took his work very seriously. So when Rukia heard she was summoned to see him, she was feeling very uneasy.

"It's alright Rukia you will be okay." She told herself as she sat in his office. It was huge, compared to that of her brother's. The room was not very decorative save a few paintings and the giant flag symbol of the first division which was positioned behind the large desk.

Rukia sat in utter silence awaiting the head captain when the door opened behind her. She jumped slightly but kept her composure. She heard footsteps coming from behind her and they stopped right in front of her. She slowly bowed her head. "Good evening Head Captain." She said very politely.

She heard soft chuckling and looked up. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw it wasn't the head captain. "My apologies lieutenant Aizen-sama." She said in a soft voice.

Lieutenant of the first division Sosuke Aizen smiled warmly at her. "Rukia Kuchiki, I am surprised to see you here. Is everything alright?" He asked with concern.

Rukia nodded slightly. "Yes, I… was just summoned to see the head captain is all."

Aizen nodded knowingly and continued walking over to the desk. "So I have heard." His voice dropped which made Rukia feel even worse. "Don't worry he will be here shortly and everything will be sorted out."

Rukia gulped not feeling the slightest at ease. Aizen went about his duties carefully placing documents on the captain's desk before standing next to it. His face was bright and he always seemed to smile. His hair was brown and slightly long falling into his eyes. His eyes were a soft brown but hidden underneath his glasses. He was generally liked by all the angels in the divisions and a very bright one at that. He was once the captain of the fifth division but gave that up when he went to be a lieutenant underneath the head captain. It was an odd choice but he assured everyone it was so that he could learn more from the head captain.

The doors to the office burst open once more and the sound of footsteps echoed in the room. Aizen promptly bowed and said: "Captain." Rukia followed as well as she bowed her head as the captain walked right past her. He didn't acknowledge the two as he sat down at his desk and went through some papers. Rukia looked up a little to see him speeding through form after form until there were none left. Aizen then took the forms and bowed once more taking a step off to the side but didn't leave the room. The captain seemed to finally register that Rukia was in the room.

"Ah Kuchiki-san, how very pleasant of you to stop by on such short notice." The head captain said cheerfully swinging his feet on his desk looking very unprofessional. "Please take a seat, I apologize to have kept you waiting."

"Thank you head captain Urahara-dono." Rukia said walking up and sitting in a chair in front of his desk.

Kisuke Urahara, captain of the first division and head captain of the 13 angel divisions. He was awarded his position due to his massive intellect and his skill in battle. He was also the head of the research division which he shared with the 12 division captain and Aizen. He was most noted for his childish behavior and his serious but playful manner of dealing with situations.

"Would you care for some tea?" He offered which Rukia declined politely. He took his feet off his desk and took out his fan covering his face with it. "Well then, down to business." He said in a more serious manner. "I bet you are wondering why I called you here. Well to put to the point you had a… unusual visit today from a demon. Care to explain what happened?"

"Yes sir, I was called to retrieve a soul and when I got there the demon was kneeling over her body and was next to her spirit so I-"

"Was he trying to take the soul?" Urahara cut in.

Rukia thought back before continuing. "No, it appeared he was just calmly standing there observing the situation."

"And his weapon?"

"It was in the ground at least six feet away from him."

Urahara nodded thoughtfully. "So he did not pose an immediate threat."

"But sir he was a demon. He had the mask and a hole in his chest."

Urahara snapped his fan shut. "A hole in the center of his chest, where the heart is?"

Rukia looked at him quizzically. "Uh, yes that's right."

He took a moment to think things over before waving his hand that had the fan in it. "Continue."

"Well I had thought he would try to take the soul so I was ready to fight but he seemed…" Rukia paused thinking of the right word. "Confused, like he didn't know who or what I was." Urahara's eyes widened slightly at that. "Then he took his weapon and retreated back saying he didn't want to fight me."

Urahara's eyes shifted to Aizen who stared back at him. "And nothing else?" Urahara asked looking back at the young Kuchiki.

"No that was all." She admitted.

Urahara leaned back and thought for a moment. He motioned for Aizen to open the door as he stood back up and put his fan back over his face. "Well if that's everything than you can go back to your duties Kuchiki-san."

Rukia stood up and bowed. "Thank you captain Urahara-dono." She turned and began walking out the door.

"One more thing." Kisuke called out to her. "What was he wearing?"

Rukia turned back and thought for a moment. "He was dressed… well like an angel. He was wearing a black Shihakusho."

Beneath his fan Kisuke smirked. "Thank you, you may go."

Rukia bowed once more and left. Aizen said farewell and shut the door walking back to Kisuke's desk. Kisuke turned and looked out the giant window on the side of the room. Aizen came up behind him and looked on as well.

"You didn't want to ask about his hair to confirm it?" Aizen asked with a playful grin.

Kisuke shrugged. "Why bother, we know it's him. The question is, why it took so long for him to pop back up."

* * *

The rising of the sun came as swiftly as it had left. The light gave way to the new day for all on the planet. The demon named Hollow, or so he had been told, was lying with his face to the sky on a roof.

He was staring at the sky watching the night disappear and the light come back. His blade, Zangetsu, was situated to the right of him with the cloth wrapped around it. He had been up there almost all night.

After the angel had left he sped off in the other direction just in case another one of them came. He had stumbled into the middle of a street and saw that people were staring at him. He quickly dashed away when they were screaming about his giant sword. He didn't understand why they could all of a sudden see him. He ran and ran until he reached a quiet place. He jumped up to the roof of a large square building and stayed there the rest of the night.

He had been going over last night's events in his mind. The more he thought the more he had questions. He was sure that no one had seen him during the day, but at night everyone saw him. If that was true than he had to watch himself at night. Also, when that badge thing he carried went off he felt like he was taken over by something. He knew what he did and he did it willingly but he didn't know where the knowledge of how to take a man's soul came from. And he had remembered how to fight when the moment came, but now he didn't remember.

Also, what happened to the girl? Did she die? Is that what happens to people when they die? The turn into a ghostly figure and get picked up by an angel? And what was an angel? Did that angel truly refer to him as an enemy? Still so many questions and no answers.

The sound of the city waking up caught his ears. He turned over and looked down over the edge to see that people were up and going about their day. He decided it was time to test his theory about people not seeing him during the day.

He stood up and grabbed his massive sword and slung it on his back. As he looked over the edge once more the sky turned black in an instant. He looked up at the dark sky and had an uneasy feeling. There had been clouds in the sky but no black ones and yet the sun was blotted out by them now. Lightning and thunder came out of the clouds that yielded no rain. Hollow looked back ahead to see a familiar dark cloaked man standing on air. He held his ground but reached up with his right hand to grasp his blade.

"A little defensive are we?" The Devil said floating towards the demon.

"Why are you here?" Hollow said not letting go of the handle.

"To give you a little, friendly, advice." The air around them froze but Hollow felt the dark heat radiating off of the Devil.

"I don't want advice. I want answers!" Hollow yelled pulling off his blade as the cloth came off the sword. He pointed the tip at the dark figure. "And I want them now."

Evil laughter filled the air behind the demon. His eyes widened as the Devil was now behind him facing the opposite way. Hollow glanced down to see that his massive blade was no longer in his hand. He turned his head ever so slightly to see over his shoulder. He was stunned to see the Devil holding Zangetsu by the blade part.

"Are you threatening me?" The Devil asked, still having his back to Hollow. The demon didn't dare move or say a word. He could feel the burning in his entire body with how close the Devil was to him. He wasn't afraid but he was weaponless and he would be trying to attack an opponent that obviously outclassed him. As the Devil was met with silence he grinned wickedly. "Didn't think so."

The Devil returned to his old spot in front of Hollow but still held his blade. "But I did come to answer some of your questions." The Devil threw the giant sword at Hollow. The demon didn't take his eyes off the Devil as he caught the quickly spinning blade by the handle like it was a toy. "First, this thing," the Devil began holding up the skull pendant that Hollow had used last night to take the man's soul. The demon looked down at his belt to see that he had taken that as well. "This is your soul reaping badge. It activates when a soul worthy of taking is near you. Obviously you know how to use it, simply hold it up to the desired soul and pour some of your spiritual pressure into it."

He too threw it back at the Hollow. He caught it with his left hand in front of his face. He took a moment to look at it as the Devil continued. "The eyes light up more and more the closer you are to a targeted soul." The demon tied the tie to the handle of his sword and looked back up at the Devil. "You may have noticed that at night you are seen by mortals. That is so that you are able to hunt evil souls at night. When the sun is up however, you are invisible to all."

"What is an angel?" The demon interrupted. He needed to know and he had better get a straight answer.

The Devil paused for a moment, choosing how to best answer the question. "The angels, are the warriors of Heaven. They are to Heaven as you are to Hell. They collect the good souls as you collect the evil ones. Avoid any confrontation if you can but destroy them if you get the chance, for they will not hesitate to destroy you. They are your ultimate enemy."

The demon swallowed his question about the angel he had met last night. He didn't need to tell the Devil anything about that.

"No for the reason you exist." The Devil formed a scroll out of darkness into his hand and Hollow grabbed his head with his left hand and shut his eyes. He could hear screaming of pain and agony coming from the scroll. It was like the paper was alive. The scroll was black with red trimmed along the side. The Devil opened it up and his red eyes focused on his demon. "There is a reason I needed you in the world of the living. There has been a… complication recently. A lot of evil souls broke out of Hell and escaped to here. Usually some escape all the time and I use my other demons to retrieve them but not this many." He let go of the scroll and it disappeared.

The Hollow froze as the Devil was right in front of him before he could blink. The Devil lifted his hand and extended one dark finger towards the demon's mask. The air itself froze with the closeness of the evil creature. As his finger touched the demon's mask he was hit with a flood of names and figures. He took a step back and held his hand up to his mask gasping in pain. He took a step forward and swung his blade at the Devil who caught it with ease. Hollow leaned his head forward, not caring about what he had just done.

"What the hell was that?" He screamed at the Devil.

"It was the list of all the escaped souls I need you to track down." The demon narrowed his eyes and made no move to lower the blade that the Devil still had a hold of. "They are evil souls, they can take the form of their old human bodies but they can change. They need to feed on other souls in order to stay in the world of the living." The demon widened his eyes and slowly lowered his blade. The Devil let go of it and they stood still face to face. "They change into their true demonic nature, depending on their power and soul they will look different. Only few will be strong enough to turn into something like you as most will change into a form of a monster. They will look intimidating but their spiritual pressure is nothing compared to you."

"You said that before, spiritual pressure. What is it?" Hollow asked.

"It is your power as a spiritual being. Any soul can increase it but some are limited due to their weak soul. But in rare cases, like you, a soul can be born with an astounding spiritual pressure and can still increase it. That is why I chose you, for your spiritual pressure is as high as the angels. You are a very powerful thing Hollow, and very… dangerous."

The Devil turned and began to walk away. "Retrieve the souls and I may gift you with more knowledge, depending on your performance." He added before disappearing. The clouds went as quickly as they came and the sky returned to being a sunny day.

Hollow looked at the spot the Devil used to be at then to his sword. He stared at the badge before looking back out at the world. It seemed he had a purpose, for the time being, but his true goal seemed to spark back to his mind. He wanted to find out who he was and why he was like this now.

* * *

Up in the heaven's, the halls of the army barracks were bustling as almost every angel was mobilized. They were all running to their assigned stations and divisions as the chaos enveloped them all.

Inside the office of the first division, the head captain sat quietly looking outside his window. The alarm and the sound of angels running about was deaf on his ears. He was sitting with his fingers intertwined in front of his face. He had a firm dark glare on his features as his eyes stayed trained a spot on the wall underneath the brim of his hat. His mind reeled on the current situation.

The angels were on high alert due to the outbreak of evil souls from Hell that happened recently. Urahara had known of this outbreak as did the rest of the angels, but they didn't know which souls and where they had gone. Until now. A recent report from the world of the living earned the location of two escaped souls. And now the high ranking captains of the angel army were gathering for an emergency meeting and the rest of the angels prepared to fight, only awaiting the command.

Urahara's eyes fell to the piece of paper sitting in front of him. He had received it only a few minutes before he called an emergency meeting. The paper stated that the general, the strongest angel in the army, was coming down to meet with them regarding their situation.

The general was the real commander of the army of angels, or the Gotei 13 that the general had named. He had named it, because he created it. Thousands of years earlier he had created it as a means to fight the demons that terrorized the souls of humans and angels. He was the former head captain but went up a position when the Gotei 13 needed more direct observation. He had chosen Kisuke Urahara because of the man's great intellect as well as his fighting ability. But mostly he had chosen the young captain because of his keen interest in overseeing all the matters the Gotei 13 had to deal with.

When Kisuke first started in the Gotei 13 he was a mystery. The man with a gifted mind and gifted spiritual pressure was truly defined of a mystery. He rose quietly in his early years to the rank of lieutenant before anyone knew it. After a while he was promoted to captain of the twelfth division and created the Technical Research Bureau, which he is still the head of this day. As his time as the division captain he was regarded by the head captain as the smartest person in the Gotei 13 and a cunning leader. Years later he was promoted to the head captain spot as the former head captain stepped up to be the general and overall commander of all the angels, while the head captain watched over the Gotei 13 itself.

Least to say, when the general called a meeting, it had to be serious. And that was the current mood of the entire Gotei 13. Kisuke looked up to see his lieutenant step in. "The captains are all on their way." Sosuke Aizen said with a neutral expression.

Kisuke sighed and stood up. He reached over and grabbed hit captain's haori off his chair and slung it over his shoulders. He walked swiftly out of the room and down the hall with his lieutenant following. He knew what this meeting was about and he was going to have a tough time trying to convince the general.

Kisuke Urahara arrived right on time inside the meeting room and was delighted to see all the other captains lined up, waiting for him. He had a large grin on his face as he greeted them. "Ah thank you all for showing up on such short notice." Kisuke said standing in front of the line of captains. "I hope it wasn't too much trouble for all of you."

The captains remained silent. They were all used to Kisuke's strange personality and odd way of dealing with situations. Kisuke still smiled at the silence and broke out his fan, covering his face, all but his eyes. "Well then, let's get started." Lieutenant Aizen came up to the side of him and handed him a small paper. Kisuke took it and lowered his fan. "First I'd like to open saying that I did not call this meeting. No, it was the general." Some of the captains realized the magnitude of that statement while others did not care. "He will be here shortly but I wanted to start by saying almost everything discussed in this meeting is…" Urahara gave a dramatic pause and brought the fan back up to his mouth. "Confidential."

As he finished the door across the room opened wide. It gave way to a dramatic silence as two figures stepped into the room. The first was a middle aged man with gray hair and a thin mustache. He wore a custom haori that was white and black resembling a little of the regular white captains uniform. His name was Chojiro Sasakibe, former lieutenant of the first division and the personal bodyguard of the general. His power was as great as any captain but he rarely used it.

Behind him walked in the general. This old looking man was anything but what he looked. His bald head revealed a massive scar on the top. His long white beard stretched almost down to his waist. He wore a bulky white haori with no division marking on the back. He carried with him a giant staff that he almost always leaned on but no Zanpakuto on his waist. He was the former head captain and the current general, General Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto. The strongest of all the angels.

He walked towards the meeting of captains and all bowed their heads, even Urahara. He walked past the long line of captains without stopping and stood in front of Kisuke. "Head Captain Urahara, I commend you for calling this meeting so soon." The old man said.

"Anything for you General Yamamoto-sama." Urahara said letting his playful smile return to his face. The general just looked at him silently and walked past him. Urahara's smile went away and he watched Yamamoto with his eyes. He knew that this meeting would go south.

"I have called you all here for an important matter." The general said stopping at the other end of the room. To his right was the captains of the Gotei 13, and to his left was the head captain. Sasakibe stood behind him to his left. "It pertains to the massive breakout of souls from Hell that occurred not too long ago. So far, we have no information on the break out. However, we have found out that the number of souls is well over twenty, the most in the past century. While we have not located them all we have found the location of two. I have requested to keep the 13 divisions on high alert while placing a few divisions in control of the living world sectors so that there will be an immediate response. I have already spoken with certain captains and the divisions that will send soldiers to the world of the living are three, five, six, eight, and thirteen."

All captains agreed quietly at the order given. Yamamoto took a moment to see if there was any objections. "Also, we have not had any activity of demons going after their breakout of evil souls. In the past Hell has sent their own men to clean up their mess, so far our research has found no unusual outbreaks of demons. But I know that he will not sit idly by while souls escape his realm. If any of your men see a demon confront one of the escaped souls, tell them to observe and see if the demon goes away peacefully afterwards. If they are confronted, then they will do as we of the Gotei 13 have always done."

General Yamamoto took a pause and his eyes traveled to Urahara. "As for another matter I will let Head Captain Urahara have the floor."

"You are very kind as always General Yamamoto-sama." Kisuke said waving his fan at the old general. Yamamoto grunted and a vein in the back of his head popped out in frustration at the uncaring mood he was displaying.

Kisuke cleared his throat and clasped his fan, his eyes went from playful to serious. "Recently one of our angels made contact with what appears to be a demon. While I do not have a photo for all of you I can tell you that his appearance makes him different from all other demons we have faced. While evil souls, not demons, that escape from Hell have the ability to turn into their former human bodies they also turn into their true evil selves, usually a towering creature that survives by devouring souls of live humans, angels, even demons. But, true demons cannot take human form, they are forever in their demon form, unseen by humans like us. They wear a mask that usually covers their faces and also have a hole somewhere on their body, signifying that they are no longer living. The highest of demons also carry a Zanpakuto, like us, and have their own abilities in comparison with our kido, but they usually dress in white. However, like us they only leave Hell when on an assignment to the living world. We have not gotten into a direct battle with them in several decades, while we have been keeping this strenuous peace do not expect it to last." Urahara finished with a small smirk.

"Now that the small history recap is out of the way, down to the real matter. The demon that one of us made contact with." Urahara looked over at Aizen with his eyes and the lieutenant gave him another piece of paper. "He was spotted in the outskirts of Karakura Town last night. We have almost nothing on his appearance or origins but what we did get was a brief measure of spiritual pressure during the moment he was spotted. His strength was mostly repressed but what we did chart down was a spiritual pressure higher than most demons that enter the world of the living to capture escaped souls." He took a moment to show everyone the paper. "At the Technical Research Bureau we usually label the demons strength on levels. Most escaped souls are level one or two while most demons that retrieve them are level four. This strength level system is highly experimental and we have yet to calibrate it to record higher levels, say a captain-level angel, or a high-ranking demon. But we can record a positive reading up to level ten. This demon however, was a level seven. His level was that of a higher ranking demon and it was still heavily repressed. When I mean repressed is that the readings were still fluctuating when we received the level. My theory is that he does not even know that he has this great power."

"What are you saying Urahara?" Yamamoto said looking directly at the head captain.

Kisuke's face fell as he knew his proposition would be shot down but a few had the right to hear it. "While he did confront one of our angels, he did not attack. He did not even attempt to take the soul of a dead girl. Instead he yielded and retreated from the area. While he should be considered dangerous I propose that we avoid this demon." Yamamoto's face twitched in the slightest, a sign of surprise. "You said it yourself general, Hell has yet to send their own force to recapture the souls but what if they already had? This one demon could be the cleanup crew. I suggest to keep the Gotei 13 on high alert but to go into an observation stand point so far instead of trying to take control of the situation. After all, it is Hell's problem to begin with." Urahara finished staring back at the general.

General Yamamoto stood silently for a moment. The air in the room became deathly still as the other captains looked at one another, each holding their own opinion of the situation presented to them. The general raised his head high and looked straight ahead. "While I appreciate the information you have presented for all of us and I respect your proposition, I have to agree with your theory of him being stronger than he knows. So I must decline your proposition. Any angel who sees this demon must report it to the head captain directly so that the proper response can be called for. Now I must announce that this meeting is over." The general began to walk briskly across the room and out the door.

"Wait," the general stopped. All eyes turned to the voice of a captain who had spoken up, but he was hidden in the long line of captains. "You never told us what he looked like."

Kisuke's face, which fell from hearing the general's rejection, instantly sparked back to his playful appearance. He smiled slightly as he lowered his head, shielding his eyes. "He was young, wearing a black Shihakusho and wielding a giant Zanpakuto. He also has orange hair."

The general hesitated for a moment before exiting. Some of the captains weren't affected by the information. Some, however, were shocked by the information and shared some knowing glances with others. One captain, the same who asked the question, immediately stormed out. Urahara frowned and began to follow. "And captain's meeting adjourned." He said.

He followed the fellow captain out of the room and down a narrow hallway. As he turned a corner he saw the captain stop. The captain had his back to Urahara and did not make an attempt to turn. "You just signed his death sentence by giving all that information to Yamamoto. You know that right?" He said in a dark tone.

"You don't seem to have faith in him." Urahara said with a deep frown. "I would have expected more from-"

"Don't," the captain interrupted. "Don't say anymore. Nothing you can say can help." The captain began to walk once more.

"I lied." Urahara called out after him as he turned slightly. "His spiritual pressure was a level ten."

The captain stopped and was about to turn his head, but didn't. He continued down the hallway and around the corner. Urahara smirked once more. "Don't count him out yet."

* * *

Hollow walked the town aimlessly during the day and was observing humans closely. He watched them do things that was normal to them but left him with more questions. He didn't understand why humans felt it necessary to do some of these things.

He supposed that it was his blank mind that caused him to find all things confusing and unnecessary. It was making him angry that he couldn't even recall simple things. That led the door to more questions like who did this to him. Was it the Devil? It seemed like the most logical explanation as the Devil said he had great spiritual pressure and used him like a tool. Then another very important question, which was always on his mind, came back up.

What was his name? And why did it have to be hidden from him? His instinct had kicked in to answer that question somewhat. He was dangerous. Or at least a little, enough so that his name was taken from him.

After much spectating and pondering, night fell on the city once again. Hollow remembered what the Devil had told him and he found himself a perch on a high building. The Devil had told him to hunt souls and, since he didn't have anything better to do, he would do that. But he wanted to remain unseen. Hours passed by and the city slept. He remained where he was and waited for a signal to spring into action.

That signal came a little later. He was looking down on an empty street when the badge hanging from the handle of his sword came to life. It beeped several times and the eyes began to glow. He looked to see nothing down below. He reached behind his back and grabbed the badge and was instantly hit with an image of a person, then a monster.

He shook his head and slowly released the badge. His eyes looked down to see a figure walking alone in the shadows. The person didn't fit the description of the person he had seen in his head when he touched the badge so he waited. Then from around the corner a monster jumped out. The monster was at least twenty feet tall. It was on all fours and had sharp claws with a giant tail that had two spikes at the end. His face was a giant white mask that had a line running directly down the middle. The beast stomped forward and the man fell down cowering in fear.

Hollow reached up and pulled out Zangetsu. He held it up high and the cloth wrapping flung in the air as he jumped down eleven stories. He hit the ground and it cracked under his feet. His head was lowered as the monster stopped and looked over at him. The air rippled around Hollow as he instinctively released some of his spiritual pressure. The monster, seeing that his soul had more power, stomped over to him. Hollow slowly looked up at the giant beast and stood up straight. He held his blade up and pointed the tip at the beast.

The monster gave out a roar and forced his front foot down on the demon. When it almost crushed him, the demon held up his bare left hand and stopped the claw. A small shockwave came from the impact and made Hollow's Shihakusho flap in the wind. The monster tilted his masked head and Hollow looked up and mimicked the notion.

Hollow threw the claw away and jumped up in the air. The monster roared and flicked his tail around. Hollow held up his sword as the clawed tail hit him and sent him flying into a building. The demon had his head down as he was stuck in the building. The tail was hitting against Zangetsu which was blocking Hollow's torso. The monster pushed his tail harder against the blade but Hollow's hand didn't move and the blade stayed a couple inches from his body. Hollow looked back up at the beast and he reached out with his left hand and grabbed the clawed tail. He quickly slashed his blade at the tail. The end was cut clean off and the monster roared in pain.

Hollow jumped down from the building and dodged a claw that slammed down at his former spot. He quickly pushed off the ground and jumped in the air once more, flying at the monster. He brought his blade up and swung it down, with great force, on the mask. The mask split right where the line was and the monster slowly began to fade. As Hollow touched back on the ground the fading monster turned into a beam of light that went into the badge hanging from the handle of Zangetsu.

The demon slowly put back the blade to its position on his back. The cloth wrapped itself around the sword and he started to walk away. He stopped and slowly looked over his shoulder at the man who was about to be killed by the monster. The man was shaking in fear but when he looked at Hollow's mask he fainted.

Hollow turned and walked into the dead of night. One escaped soul down, a lot more to go.

* * *

Fin.

A/N: Chapter 2 done. So, is everything making sense a little bit yet? Don't worry I will introduce the mysterious captain later on. I bet you are all thinking that Aizen is the automatic bad guy. Don't be so sure of yourself, for I happen to like the evil captain and will be portraying him differently in this fic. But I will not reveal anything about the plot. Next chapter we introduce someone very special and a certain someone may get a name…

As always please review with your opinion on the chapter and story overall.


	3. Awakening

A/N: Well it's been a little while but here I am with chapter 3. And by the way, if you didn't know the time limit for each new chapter is in between 14 and 21 days but I will hope to get a new chapter out every other week, on time. But no promises. Thank you everyone who read and reviewed, it really means a lot and I hope to keep your support. And so here is the chapter I have most enjoyed writing, due to a certain someone showing up… You'll see.

Songs: The Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden, Losing My Religion by R.E.M. The One I Love by R.E.M.

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Awakening

"Rukia!" A loud mouthed, red haired angel yelled as he burst through the door to her room. Rukia yelled at the outburst as her eyes widened and she fell to the ground. She rubbed her backside for a moment before her temper flared and she jumped up screaming back at him.

"Renji! What kind of a greeting is that?! You know normal people knock!" She screamed in his face. The red haired angel, Renji, stood up straight and crossed his arms looking away from her.

"Well I would if you could take some time to visit more often." He said bitterly.

"Oh so now it's my fault!?" She yelled back at him. "So usual, for a dimwitted Neanderthal."

Renji practically had to crouch so that he could be face to face with the fiery small girl. "At least I'm not a loud mouthed midget!"

The sound of a smack then a crash echoed in the room as Rukia stood fuming with her fist extended. Across the room Renji was upside down against the wall that he hit when she punched him. His face was in a daze as his head was throbbing.

In an instant the door to her room was opened once more. Instead of it being thrown open ungracefully followed by yelling, it was open only half way and a tall powerful figure stepped in. "Rukia, what is going on in here?" Byakuya Kuchiki, head of the Kuchiki family and captain of the sixth division, asked his sister. She quickly gave him a bow and tried to explain everything.

"Nii-sama! I… sorry, it's just that Renji was-"

Byakuya interrupted her when his head turned to Renji, who was still stuck in the wall. "Lieutenant Abarai, why are you here?" The captain asked not showing any emotion on his face.

Renji immediately picked himself up and bowed. "Captain, I apologize but I had finished my duties and I thought I would drop by and visit Rukia."

Byakuya raised an eyebrow. "You let yourself in and visited Rukia, alone, in her room when there are watchful eyes all over the Kuchiki mansion waiting to spread rumors about anything they see. Including a young man going into Rukia's room, when they are both alone for a long time."

Rukia's face turned into a tomato and she found the ground very interesting. Renji began to sweat as his eyes bulged. "W-well I-I didn't uh, um…"

"Didn't think logically, yes, yes you did not." Byakuya said as he turned and exited the room but left the door open. It was very subtle, and unless you knew him you wouldn't know that Byakuya gave them some advice. Rukia caught on and began to walk, quickly, out of her room with a shaken Renji to follow.

"Man, captain really likes to scare the shit out of me." Renji said pulling at his collar as he walked with Rukia out of the Kuchiki mansion.

"Well it's your own fault." Rukia said as her face returned to normal. "How did you get into the mansion anyway?"

Renji wore a proud smirk. "I have my ways. The captain may think of me as incompetent but I am a lot smarter than he takes me for."

Rukia scoffed and they walked out into the courtyard. "What did you want to come see me for anyway?" She asked after a moment of silence.

Renji's smirk went away and he looked down at her seriously. "I heard you had to go see the head captain." Rukia's face grimaced. Renji saw this and pressed on. "What happened?"

"I don't know. He just asked me about what had happened when I had went to retrieve a soul from the world of the living." Rukia said looking around as they walked towards the barracks of the Gotei 13.

"Then what's the big deal about it?" Renji asked.

"Well I had a run in with a demon-"

"What? Well what happened? Obviously you didn't lose but, hell Rukia, why didn't you call in reinforcements?!" Renji said not trying to hide his concern.

"I don't know what happened!" Renji's puzzlement was evident and she continued. "The demon was there when I arrived and then he just… left. I mean he didn't even try to attack." Rukia said remembering the confrontation.

"What? Why?" Renji said scratching his head.

"That's what the head captain wanted to find out I think, but he was more interested with how the demon responded and…" Rukia paused as she remembered back at the meeting.

"_What was he wearing?"_

The question didn't really matter to her then but now it clicked. Why would the head captain care what the demon was wearing? "He asked me about the demon itself, like his weapon and what he was wearing."

"That just doesn't make any sense. Why would he care about those things?" Renji asked puzzled.

"I don't know." Rukia thought back to the demon.

"_I have no intention of fighting you, so go, and leave me be."_

He had sounded so pained. Like he wanted to be left alone but didn't understand why. The confrontation had been on Rukia's mind for a while now and none of it made sense to her. Why would a demon retreat from a battle, it wasn't in their nature.

"Hey Renji, where are we going?" Rukia asked noticing that they were headed back to her division.

"Oh right I almost forgot, your captain needed to see you and I told him I would go and get you." Renji said.

"Why does he need to see me? He told me that I could leave before he went to the captains meeting."

"Well I don't know the details but something big went down during that meeting and now some of the squads are being moved to the living world. Like our squads." Rukia looked back up at her lifelong best friend. "He might want to send you on a patrol mission or something."

They both stopped outside of the division thirteen captain's office. "Just whatever happens be careful." Renji said sounding serious.

Rukia smirked "Like you have to worry about me." She said sounding confident as she walked inside. Renji watched her go and waited a little longer staring at the door before he turned and headed back to his room.

* * *

Another day was starting to end and Hollow found himself walking the streets once more. During the previous night he had no more run-ins with evil souls and it was pretty quiet. Now during the day he just walked with the crowds of people trying to gather some form of thought.

The previous night was still a mystery to him. He had done all those things when battling the monster himself he just didn't know where the knowledge came from. And how did he know to hit the mask on the monster in order to kill it? All that he knew was that it was twice so far when he was met with a battle he had considerable knowledge of how to fight only when the time came.

His empty mind was a plague to him but it made room for the many questions and theories that he had been going over in his mind. The only thing he knew for sure so far was that he had to eliminate those evil souls as fast as they popped up. Not because the Devil had told him so but because he needed to stop them before they took innocent lives. He was a demon sure, but that didn't mean he had to sit by and let the innocent suffer.

The sun was almost gone and so he began to look around for a tall building to serve as a lookout for the ensuing hunt of the night. He looked straight ahead and saw the tallest building in the distance.

Outside of the city, high in the sky, was a castle. The castle was white and was built on top of a nearby mountain and was overseeing all of the city. Hollow cocked his head as he did not notice the castle the few days he had been in the city. He was about to head over to it when his soul badge went off.

He glanced over his shoulder to look at the dangling badge and saw the eyes were glowing very faintly. He grabbed it and nothing happened. He waited for a flush of information to enter his mind as well as an image of the monster he was supposed to face but it didn't happen. He narrowed his eyes and ripped it off the handle of his sword and stared at it. They eyes continued to glow faintly as he looked at it.

Then a burst of light came from it and a small yellow beam pointed to the castle. He looked from the large white castle to the badge. He shook the badge and hit it several times. 'Is the damn thing broken?' He thought as he continued to shake it. But nothing else happened. Just a small beam of light pointing to the castle.

He looked over his shoulder and the sun was almost all the way down. He returned his gaze to the castle and rolled his eyes. 'Looks like I don't have a choice.' He bent his knees then jumped high in the air heading straight for the castle.

* * *

Kisuke Urahara stood in the Technical Research Bureau by himself. He was staring at a monitor that showed Karakura Town. He had been observing the city very closely, for he was going to choose where to place the angels that would be on guard in the city. What he was really doing was watching the demon's movements and was going to put the angel guards far from his usual locations. But after a while he had not found the demon anywhere in the city.

He was a very patient man so he could wait until the demon decided to make an appearance. It was currently night in the town and all he had to do was wait for the demon to make his move.

The doors behind him slid open and he didn't move from his spot. "Yes Aizen?" Kisuke said knowing who it was.

The lieutenant bowed and offered a smile. "Head Captain Urahara, I have the fifth division captain here to see you."

Urahara smiled not turning around. "As expected, send him in."

Aizen bowed again and left the entrance. Behind him the fifth division captain stepped in. "So have you cooled off yet captain?" Urahara said turning around and waving.

The next sound was a fist connecting and then whimpering. "Ow, ow, why did you have to hit so hard?" Kisuke whimpered in a corner as he rubbed his nose. "You might have broken it."

The fifth division captain kept his fist extended as he grinned. "Now I'm cooled off." He said as he stood up tall.

Urahara saw his normal demeanor return and he stood back up smiling. "Now that you're done can we get down to business?" The door behind the fifth division captain closed and took the blinding light that covered his appearance with it. The captain had short spiked up black hair and a large chin with a short stubble for a beard and a smug look on his face. "Captain Kurosaki."

* * *

The night settled over the large white castle looking over Karakura Town. The people residing in it were preparing themselves to turn in for the night that they didn't see the dark figure climbing up it. The dark figure reached the base of the castle then used his abilities to begin jumping up to the top.

Hollow was following the light that had come from his soul badge that had indicated that his target was at the highest tower. He had his sword stabbed into the stone wall and was climbing the last distance to the top. He looked up from his position and saw that a light was still on at the top room he was going towards. He narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the handle of his sword. He reached up with his right hand and grasped on the stone while his left stayed on the handle.

He pulled the heavy blade out and swung upwards, jamming it back into the stone and reaching up grabbing onto the stone again. It was the same process, reach stab repeat, reach stab repeat. He was only a few feet from a window when he felt something.

He remembered back to his fight with the escaped soul in its monster form and what he had felt. It was a faint dark feeling that hit him for a moment before he went into battle. He guessed it was the soul's spiritual pressure. It had been weak that he only felt it for a moment before it went away. This time was different. Instead of the feeling being dark, it was bright. It didn't make him cringe or want to snap into battle instead it made him feel… he just couldn't describe it.

But one thing he knew was that he felt like he should remember this feeling. It was the first time he had ever felt like this. Like he should remember something that he came across.

He shook his head as he let go of his sword and held onto the wall with one hand. He reached with his right hand and wrapped the cloth, attached to his sword, around his hand. He pulled himself up higher with his left hand and grabbed onto the edge of the window. He did it slowly, just in case there was someone inside looking at the window for whatever reason. His feet were dangling inches from where his sword was resting in the stone. He tested the cloth he had around his hand before he looked up to the window.

In a split second he pulled the cloth and yanked the sword out and flipped it up in the air above him. He pulled himself up and his toes touched the edge of the window. He had his head down as Zangetsu flipped around and he extended his right hand and the handle landed perfectly in it. He slowly looked into the room to find it empty.

The light was coming from a small candle at the edge of the room. Hollow looked around and brought Zangetsu up in front of his mask just in case. His eyes flashed to the badge and saw that the eyes were no longer glowing, he frowned.

He stepped off of the window and took a step. The room was huge, with a giant bed at the edge of the room. The walls were decorated with many paintings, mostly of flowers. There was two large dressers on the left of the bed and a large cabinet on the right. The room was completely clean with not even a speck of dust in sight. The room smelled sweet and he actually liked the scent, but he didn't know what it was. His eyes flashed to his immediate right and he noticed a small table with a couple of unlit candles and two picture frames. He walked over to the table.

His head tilted in curiosity at the pictures. He looked from one to the other and his eyes were filled with interest. He reached for one of the pictures and took it. It was a picture of a boy with unruly orange hair, it was the orange hair that had his immediate interest. The boy had big brown eyes and hard features on his present scowl. But even though he was scowling, Hollow could see the faint smile that the boy was managing to offer the picture.

Hollow's eyes focused from the picture to his own reflection that the glass offered. He stared at his hair then to his menacing mask. He had never thought how truly evil his mask looked. The sharp teeth that stayed glued shut in front of his mask even if he talked. The red pattern on the left side offered more to the intimidation factor. The last piece was his eyes. The yellow and black pupils made even his spine shiver.

He closed his eyes and sighed. He slowly put the picture down and let his hand slide on the table. His hand stopped and his eyes opened when he touched something small. He grabbed something small and held it up to the light to get a better look. It looked like a small glass flower with a clip at the back of it. He turned it in his hand before his eyes glanced back down and he saw another one just like it. He tilted his head. 'Flowers,' he thought with much interest. Something about flowers made him want to remember but he could not recall a thing.

His head snapped around to an open doorway near the bed that had a light on. He cursed himself for not seeing the light. He heard a noise come from it and his left hand instinctively gripped his sword harder. He remained where he was, holding his weapon in one hand and the small flower clip in the other.

What came out of the doorway, he was not prepared for. Out from the room came a young woman with long auburn hair and soft white skin. She was short compared to him but average for most girls. Her face was soft and delicate with pink full lips and long eyelashes. Her eyes were closed as she stepped in the room and Hollow took this moment to observe her. She was wearing a long white nightgown that was baggy on her but still showed off her well-endowed assets. Hollow didn't stare because he didn't find the need to, the mind wipe also effected some carnal parts of his mind. He didn't even know he was missing out.

Hollow stared at her face as her big eyes opened and looked right at him. They were a dazzling gray that Hollow couldn't help but to stare into. She took a moment to register that he was there then her eyes widened. She let out a small squeak and held her hands up to her mouth. Hollow looked at her in confusion before turning his body to her, away from the table, and slightly lowering his weapon.

Her eyes flashed from him to his hand that held the flower. He followed her gaze and looked at the flower. He looked back at her and she looked back up at him. She let her hands slowly fall down to her sides and she took a small step forward. Hollow realized that she wasn't afraid of him, not like all the others had been.

She tilted her head to the side a little and looked at him in wonder. Hollow instinctively took a step back when she took another step forward. He had not been afraid before and still wasn't now, but she was different and it worried him. She wasn't cowering in fear or running, but instead she came closer. She wasn't too close to him but she was getting close enough. She reached out with her hand towards his mask.

In a flash Hollow dropped his sword and grabbed her hand. The young woman gasped but she didn't move back at all. Hollow narrowed his eyes at her, unknowingly making himself look even more evil. The young woman looked from his eyes to her hand that he held. He wasn't holding it roughly but he held it firm. She slowly blinked and stared back into his eyes.

His eyes widened as she stared. She slowly opened her mouth and he heard her voice barely above a whisper. "Ku…?"

She was interrupted by a short knock at her door. She turned and her hand slipped out of his loose grip. She didn't notice it and went to her door but stopped at the sound of a pin hitting the ground. She stopped and looked back at Hollow, or the spot where he once was. He was gone, as was his sword. All that was left was her flower hairpin he once was holding on the ground.

The door opened slightly. "Princess, is everything alright?"

She looked out the window with sadness in her eyes. "Yes, everything is fine." She replied in a soft voice. The door shut behind her and she walked over her hairpin and towards the window. She looked out and then down her tower. There was nothing, total emptiness in the dark of the night. She sighed and went back inside. She picked up the hairpin and set it back on the table. She gasped in surprise to see that a certain picture was picture faced down. Her eyes widened as she realized that he must have looked at it. She gave one last look at the window then picked up the picture.

She took a moment to look at it and smiled. She delicately placed the picture back down with it facing her. She looked at it for a moment longer and she ran her hand across the glass of the frame.

"Goodnight Kurosaki-kun." She said in a soft voice.

On top of the tower, Hollow was crouched looking over at the faint glow from the window. He watched as the glow went away and the window was dark. He sighed and closed his eyes. His mind was reeling.

First, he knew that she wasn't an escaped soul. There was no dark essence about her and she didn't transform into some sort of monster. That and the fact that the stupid badge was probably broken. It didn't even respond to her but it had told him to go to that room. And he knew that she was not evil in any way. She seemed too kind and innocent to be near the word evil.

That led to the next thing on his mind. She KNEW him. He could tell that much. She didn't run away from him or scream or anything like that. She had actually approached him and went to touch his mask. It didn't occur to him at the time but when she was about to say something he had a really deep feeling that it was going to be his name.

His eyes opened. She did know him. He couldn't guess how she knew him but she did. He stood up tall and held up Zangetsu. He jumped forward and stabbed the huge blade into the stone above the window and grabbed the cloth, swinging into the window. His feet quietly hit the floor and he let go of the cloth wrapping. He stood up and looked across the room at the huge bed. She was sleeping.

He silently walked over to the side of the bed and looked at her. Her long auburn hair was spilled out around her hair like a sea of orange. He listened to her soft breathing and tilted his head. If she knew him than that meant that he must have known her, but he couldn't. It angered him that he couldn't remember. The only thing that even gave him a sense of remembrance was the flower trinkets. That paired with the warm aura he got radiating from her made him sure that he knew her from before. He wanted to remember her.

But he couldn't. He sighed and turned to leave. As he went he stopped to see the picture he put face down was now up again. The boy with the orange hair, brown eyes, and a hard scowl was what the picture was of. He looked from it then to her. Maybe… maybe it was him! Maybe he was the boy in the picture. It was possible, after all he didn't know what he looked like under the mask but they shared the same odd color of hair.

When she shifted in her sleep he jumped out the window and grasped the cloth.

He ripped the sword out of the stone and dropped. He yanked it back to him and grabbed the handle as he free fell down the long tower. When he got close to the ground he flipped around and stabbed the sword into the tower and slid down, creating a long line from his blade. When he got closer he pulled the blade back out and landed on his feet perfectly.

He began to wrap the cloth back around the blade as he walked back to the city. He still had to hunt for the night. As he thought about where to look for another evil soul, the badge went off again. This time the eyes began to glow and it was beeping. It seemed to start working normally and when he grabbed it he was hit with images of the target. He released the badge and looked off in the distance. He was stopped at the edge of the city still near the castle.

He turned back around and looked right up at the castle. The top room he had been in recently was dark still and his mind drifted to the girl he saw in it. She knew who he was… that much he was sure of, but what he meant to her and her to him, he did not know. The badge beeped again and broke him out of his thought process. But he still stared at the tower.

The soft look on her face, the kind aura he felt coming straight from her, it was all new. He had never seen anyone like her out of all the people he had seen. She was truly a mystery to him. The way she looked at him too… She looked at his eyes in wonder, and something else. He remembered her expressions throughout the time, they were stuck in his mind. The shock of seeing him at first, the wonder as she looked him over, then a sense of realization. She had realized who he was and then her face turned into a look he hadn't seen before. But one thing she did not do at all was show fear of any kind.

Hollow knew what he was going to do. She was his answer. She was the new plan. It was all about getting back to her and finding out if she truly did know who he was. He could finally have his name back. It was decided, he would pay her another visit tomorrow. And with that he walked off towards his next target.

* * *

"Now that I have your attention, you mind telling me what the hell you are up to Urahara?" Isshin Kurosaki said with his arms crossed. Isshin was the captain of the fifth division after Aizen left to take up the lieutenant's position for division one. He had a long history with the Gotei 13 and Kisuke Urahara. Nobody but a select few knew the true story behind his past and why he left years ago…

"No need to be so hostile Kurosaki-san." Kisuke said waving his fan in an obviously joking matter. "And yes, I shall. You see the demon that I before mentioned was in fact him. It has taken five years for him to pop back up but he has."

"But that doesn't explain why he is a demon." Isshin said narrowing his eyes.

"I was curious about that myself and so far I have nothing to go on." Kisuke said with a playful grin as he turned his back to Isshin.

"Should have known." Isshin said walking over next to him and looking at the monitors. "Are you watching him?"

"Well not currently, as I have yet to spot him." Kisuke said walking over to the control panel. He was about to type something out when he noticed a small blinking red light. 'What?' he said in his mind. His eyes widened. He pressed the button and on the largest screen a tall tower popped up. Kisuke's eyes scanned the dark night around the tower as Isshin walked over to him.

"What's up?" Isshin said from behind him.

Kisuke grinned once more as he quickly paused the screen as a figure was jumping down from the tower. "Look familiar?" The head captain said.

Isshin frowned once again. "Not really."

Kisuke typed in a command and the monitor zoomed in then refocused the picture. Isshin couldn't help but gasp as realization flashed across his features. Kisuke looked at him out of the corner of his eye and kept his grin.

"Well?"

Isshin stared at the picture of the man with a hole in his chest, a white mask, a large sword, and orange hair flying down the length of the castle.

"It is my son."

* * *

Fin.

A/N: The plot thickens! I know that I wasn't fooling any of you with who Hollow is but the fact that he doesn't know his name and that there is a big mystery behind him is very important. And now SHE is introduced. Yeah you were all probably screaming her name and that you could guess who it was before she even entered the room. So now him and her have seen each other, will they meet again? What affects could it have on both of them and the angels? Guess we will all find out soon.

Please review and tell me what you think!


	4. Once Upon A Time

A/N: Next chapter yay! This one took a little while but I hope you like it, and as always leave a review telling me what you think. I'm going to save the notes for the end so here is the chapter I hope you enjoy!

Songs: Another State of Mind by Social Distortion, In My Darkest Hour by Megadeth, Do What You Want by Bad Religion.

Disclaimer: Chapter 1

Once Upon A Time

A large white castle sat on top of a mountain directly overlooking Karakura Town. The sun from the east hit the large castle and brought light on it. At the top of the castle was a large tower with one open window. Inside the window was the large room that was only occupied by one person. Said person was fast asleep in the large bed at the back of the room. The light came in the window and shown in at the foot of the bed.

The sound of soft snoring echoed in the quiet room. The young woman that lived in the tower was in her large comfy bed sleeping soundly. She was lying on her side grasping the pillow slightly and snuggling her head further into the pillow. Her long auburn hair was spread out all around her. She had the covers up to her neck and pillows all around her.

A soft knock on her door made her groan slightly as she shifted in her sleep. The knocking was a bit louder and the door opened slightly. "Hime dear, are you awake?" A gentle voice came from the door.

The young woman opened her eyes slightly and pushed herself up a bit. She let out a small yawn and looked over at the door. "Yes mom, I am." She said in a very sleepy voice.

"Breakfast will be served in twenty minutes, I will be leaving for a short while so I can't join you this morning." The voice from the barely opened door said.

"Okay." The young woman said as she rubbed the tiredness from her eyes and got up.

This was Orihime Inoue. Princess Orihime Inoue. Future queen. She was the young heiress to the throne. Orihime was twenty two years old and lived a very protective life. She had been living in the castle almost all her life and barely knew anything outside of it.

Even though the world had been vastly changing and it was now known as the modern times, the country was still ruled by the monarchy. Each country had their own royalty to rule as well as another sect of government to rule over the small stuff.

Orihime stood up and smoothed out her nightgown a little. Her eyes glanced up and looked at the picture she cherished so much. Well she cherished both. One was of her dear brother who had passed away long ago. The other picture, however, the person had died more recently. Her eyes always lingered to it every time she stepped into the room. The boy who constantly scowled at everyone and everything was actually smiling a little. You could only see it if you know him very well.

Her mind flashed back to last night when someone who seemed to resemble that same boy. She wondered if it really happened or if it was a dream, or nightmare. She was horrified to see a dark, scary mask covering his face and the giant hole in his chest, where the heart should be.

When she first saw this… thing, it had shocked her. She was almost afraid but when she saw the hair and the similarity in size and build she became curious. Curious if that it truly was the one she knew a long time ago. The eyes were very different though and so she didn't know for sure. But he had left before she could ask the thing any questions.

She sighed and went into the bathroom to freshen up and get ready for the day. She would almost always dress in casual clothing. She didn't like to have to wear the prim and proper dresses that royalty was required to where. She did like the dresses but she didn't want to wear them all the time. Instead she just dressed like any normal young woman. A simple t-shirt and jeans, it wasn't like she was going outside or seeing anyone that made her care about her appearance.

As she walked out of the room she grabbed the flower hairpins on the table and put them on her shirt over her heart. She used to put them in her hair but stopped after her hair got longer and she did her hair a bit differently, but she always carried them.

She walked down the long staircase and then into the dining hall where she was greeted by all the servants. They all liked the young princess, after all what wasn't there to like about her. She was the most kindhearted person in the world, it only made sense that she stayed in the castle. The cruel and evil world did not deserve this pure and innocent girl.

In the dining hall was a huge table with over thirty chairs and a vast supply of food already laid out for her. Orihime sat down and looked hungrily at the food. She was about to dig in when she looked over and saw that two seats that were supposed to be filled were empty still.

"Excuse me, where are the girls?" Orihime asked one of the servants passing by.

The servant bowed slightly and didn't look her in the eyes. "The girls wanted me to pass along a message that they would be picking up breakfast on their way to school this morning."

"Oh," she said a little deflated. Now she was all alone at the large table. She began to eat a little until she felt too lonely. She politely got up and left the table. She walked down the long halls of the castle and was about to enter the library when another servant came up to her.

"Princess Inoue, you have a phone call." The servant said holding a phone to her.

"Thank you." She said sweetly taking the phone. "Hello?" She placed the phone up to her ear.

"Orihime? Do you know how hard it is to get a hold of you all the time?" A rough female voice said on the other line.

"Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime said, happy to hear from her best friend. "Sorry, you know how protective they are of me." She said walking into a study room and sitting on a cushioned chair in a very ungraceful and unprincess like way. "Are you back in Karakura Town?" She asked as her feet began to kick back and forth involuntarily. In her heart and mind, she was like a little girl.

Tatsuki was a professional fighter and a long time friend of Orihime. The two had met when Orihime was allowed to go to normal school when she was eleven. Orihime was picked on for being a princess and her odd color of hair but Tatsuki had protected the kind hearted girl. As did someone else…

"Yep, I just got back this morning. Did you want me to drop by?" Tatsuki said.

"No it's alright. I will meet you at the mall so that we could shop and stuff." Orihime said cheerfully.

"Alright I will be there in an hour. See you there Orihime."

"Bye Tatsuki-chan!" The princess said hanging up the phone. She quickly jumped up and dashed back to her room. She needed to get ready to go out to the city.

Orihime did go out in the city but it was very rare. She only did if she had wanted to see her friends, the ones that she made during her time in school. Usually though, it was just Tatsuki. The rest had moved away or began to move on with their own lives. It wasn't often but she loved to go hang out with her best friend.

She had put on a sweatshirt to accommodate for the approaching winter cool air and grabbed her purse with not a lot of money. She never carried a lot of money on her because of the fact that she was the princess and someone would try to rob her. But she knew that Tatsuki would get her out of any situation.

She told a servant that she was going out and to not expect her until dinner. She opted to go into town by taxi, taking a limo was not a way to blend in. She had her own personal vehicle but she never drove it. She didn't like driving, she much preferred to walk everywhere she went. Orihime loved to take in everything around her and she felt like driving took away from that. However, it was a pretty long walk from the castle to Karakura Town. She was taken into town and told the taxi driver to let her off there and she walked the rest of the way.

Since she stayed in the castle so much people hardly recognized her. If they did it was only high ranking people who knew better than to call out their princess in public. Other than that it was just her friends who only called her by her name and never said the word princess, so she avoided press and a lot of people asking her questions and getting in her business.

The walk to the mall was relatively short. She had stopped on the way to buy a muffin. She always had a sweet tooth that could never be satisfied. If she wasn't a princess she would have wanted to be a baker. So that she could have all the treats she would ever want.

She finished her little treat by the time she got to the mall. She looked at the entrance of it and then looked around. 'Is she here yet?' The princess wondered.

"Orihime!" She turned around to see her friend walking over to her. The average height, athletically built, black haired woman that approached her was her best friend. Tatsuki was a bad tempered foul mouthed teenager in personality still had a soft spot for those close to her. "About time you showed up. Did you walk again?" Tatsuki said glaring at her best friend.

"Maybe a little. You know I like to look around the town." Orihime said looking at the ground bashfully.

"Whatever, come on, you need to buy me more clothes." Tatsuki said moving past her and towards the door.

"You always say th-." Tatsuki stopped and turned back around at Orihime who was zoned out staring at an alley across the street. Her eyes were wide as she stared in a complete daze. Tatsuki walked back over to her friend and looked where she was looking. There was nothing there and she looked back at her zoned out friend.

"Hello, anyone home?" Tatsuki said waving her hand in front of the beauty's face. Orihime snapped back and looked at her. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I was just, um…" In a flash she turned around and held out her hands. "Thinking that if zombies came and attacked while an army of angry robots charged them then we would have to run to the bakery and grab all of the sweets and then hide with our long food supply until the war is over." She finished looking comically happy.

Tatsuki laughed nervously as a sweat dropped down the back of her head. "Uh sure Orihime," she said walking back to the entrance of the mall.

Orihime's carefree look went away and she gave a longing glance back at the alleyway. 'I know I saw you.' She thought sadly. "You coming Orihime?" Tatsuki's voice broke her out of her thoughts. She looked down and slowly turned to follow her friend.

* * *

In the dark of the alleyway, two yellow eyes glowed as they watched her go.

The morning started off the like the last few for Hollow. He was simply walking the streets waiting for something. The previous night he had defeated another one of those evil souls much quicker this time. But his mind stayed on the later engagement he wished to have with that girl.

As he walked thinking about what to ask her first he looked over and stopped. Across the street, amidst all the people, stood her. To Hollow there was only one her. The girl with the long auburn hair and gray eyes that stared at him with wonder. And there she was outside the large building, talking with another girl.

He took his hands out of his pockets and turned to her fully. People kept passing through him like nothing. After all during the day he didn't exist. He stood watching her with mild interest. After all during the day he didn't have anything to do but to watch humans, so why not watch this one human girl.

He was watching for a moment when she turned and looked right at him. He noticed her eyes widened again and he felt exposed. In a flash he disappeared into the dark of the alley. 'She could see me!' It wasn't obvious but she had that same look in her eyes when she was looking at him last night. He knew, she had seen him. Somehow she had seen him during the day.

He stood in the dark watching the girl as she slowly went into the building with another girl. He moved forward a bit until his mask was into the light. He decided not to keep an eye on her. He didn't want to chance her seeing him in the light again. So he would wait for the night to confront her.

* * *

"Now are there any questions?" A cheerful Kisuke Urahara said as he looked over the other angels. He had called a meeting the next day to give the orders to the angels that were being sent into the world of the living. There were thirty angels in total from divisions three, five, six, eight, and thirteen. The angels varied from unseated officers all the way up to a fourth seated officer. They were all given their specific duties and locations.

The room was quiet as no one had any questions for the head captain. Kisuke smiled and held out his hand towards the door. "Very well, you may all go now." His eyes followed all the angels leaving when he stopped at a certain one. "Kuchiki-san, could you wait a moment please?" He said to the girl.

Rukia Kuchiki stopped and looked at him. She gave a quick nod and ran back to her spot in front of the head captain. "Yes sir Urahara-dono?" She didn't know why he wanted to talk with her directly. She had been one of two that were about to be stationed in Karakura Town.

"I had chosen you specifically for Karakura Town. Do you know why?" Kisuke put on a small grin as the young Kuchiki shook her head. He lowered his head a bit making sure that his eyes were covered. "I had chosen you because of your run in with the demon the other day, you are the only one who knows what he looks like and the fact that he is anything but unskilled." Urahara saw that she nodded once before continuing. "Another reason, is a matter I wish to be overseen by you, personally."

He took out a small piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. It was a picture of a girl with bright auburn hair and gray eyes with some information at the bottom. "Her name is Orihime Inoue. Princess Inoue. She is a… special person. Yes, she is royalty but that is not what makes her special. I need you to watch over her. I have no doubt that her life may be in danger soon, but I have a feeling that your assistance will not be acquired." He chuckled a bit at the last part.

Rukia looked at him with keen interest. "What do you mean sir?"

Urahara put on a playful smile and waved his hand. "Nothing by that, but I do need you to watch over her and report everything to me directly. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir, head captain." She said bowing a little.

"Good, oh and if the demon manages to drop by," Kisuke added as he walked away. "Just observe from afar." He stopped and looked back at her with a serious look but still held a smile. "These are my orders, understood?"

"Yes Urahara-dono." Rukia bowed again and left in a hurry. Not realizing that Kisuke had already left the room.

* * *

Night found itself to Karakura Town once again. It was a quiet and cool night as the clock grew closer to midnight. Many were at home or too busy to notice a dark figure running at inhuman speeds towards the castle overlooking Karakura Town.

Hollow was on the other side of the town when night had come and he had quickly started his venture towards the castle and his one objective. The girl. The girl that knew who he was and had answers that he desperately needed. In a matter of seconds he was drawing near the castle. He had been greatly anticipating this moment all day and what seemed all the time since he had been awake.

He made sure to not be seen by others as he made his way around the castle and to the back where the tower was, and where she was. He stared up at the top and saw that her light was still on. He looked at his back and his eyes flashed to the soul badge the Devil gave him. He had a theory that the Devil would be able to use the device to listen in on what the demon was doing. It only made sense, it was his tool after all. And if the Devil didn't, oh well, it didn't hurt to be cautious. Better safe than sorry.

He ripped the badge off and tossed it onto a rock near the base of the tower. He reached behind him and brought out his massive blade. The wrapping fell away from it and fluttered in the air.

During the day he had been practicing the ability he had to step quickly and basically flash to anywhere he wanted to in the blink of an eye. He had noticed that he used this ability several times during battle and once when he escaped from her room last night. So his mission earlier that day was to hone the ability and use it at will. After numerous failed attempts he was able to use it only a few times before he would get confused and forget how.

He readied his blade and bent his knees, searching for a good spot. His eyes caught on a small jutted out stone and he was gone. He reappeared right above it and his foot pushed off on it and he was gone again. He reappeared only ten feet below the window and stabbed his blade into the stone. He grunted as he slide down a little, his left hand grabbed on the stone wall and his feet planted, but he stopped. He looked up and was glad that he didn't have to climb all the way up this time. He adjusted his grip on his blade and prepared for one last jump.

He kept his eyes fixed on the window as his feet shifted a bit so he could get a good push off the wall. He readied himself and jumped. He flew up and landed once again on the base of the window. The balls of his feet were set as he held his sword out and twirled it, making the wrapping that acted as a sheath, come around it once more. He silently stepped inside and put the sword on his back.

He looked around and saw the girl was not here. His eyes went to the doorway she appeared from last night and saw that the light was on in there again. He stood up straight and waited for her in the same spot he was yesterday. Inside his mind, his thoughts were whirling with the questions he wanted to ask. The first and most important was his name of course, then her name. After that it was a flood.

He glanced down at his feet and saw himself moving them slightly every now and then. He was nervous! He had never been nervous since he had existed and now he was. 'What is it about her that has me nervous?' He wondered intently. He looked back around the room and noticed it was the same as it was last night, perfect. He also caught the hint of that sweet smell once again. It puzzled him how he could smell when the mask covered his nose, but then again he could talk and his mask didn't move either.

His head turned to the other door in the room as it opened. In walked the girl who had been haunting his thoughts since he saw her last night. She stepped in and looked up at him and stopped dead in her tracks as the door behind her shut on its own. She stared at his mask as he saw that she was clearly shocked to see him again. Hollow didn't move an inch as he looked back at her.

She just kept staring at him, waiting for something to happen. He was wrecked with the reality of seeing her again that all the preparation he had went right out the window he had come in through. She was here now and he couldn't even speak in her presence. The odd, warm aura he felt returned and now he was sure that it came only from her. His hands were at his sides and his weapon on his back, he showed no signs of hostility.

The staring went on for what seemed like hours as neither dared to speak. They were both too shocked at seeing each other to say a word. Finally the girl broke the silence. "Are… are you here to haunt me?" She said.

Hollow noted how soft her voice was. It matched her appearance all too much. He could tell that she was good as good could get. When what she said finally registered he just coked his head to the side.

She had yet to hear him speak but the sign of confusion was apparent. She closed her eyes and let out a small shaky breath. She looked back at the masked version of someone she once knew and spoke. "Are you here to haunt me for him?"

Hollow relaxed his tense shoulders at hearing her soft voice again. It showed no signs of being afraid but it was showing something else. Sadness? Guilt? He didn't know. Hell, he didn't even know what sadness and guilt were. He looked her in the eyes and finally said something to her.

"I…" He stopped when she jumped a little. His voice was broken and warped, it sounded scary. She looked at him in curiosity as he continued. "I am here for answers."

It was her turn to tilt her head in confusion. "Answers? Why?"

He sighed and looked at the ground. "I don't know," he didn't know how to put this. "Anything." His head snapped back up to her. "But you know who I am. Don't you?"

Her soft eyes looked at him warily before she scowled. Or tried to scowl. Her face was too kind to turn into a mean look. But he could see that her eyes were fixed on the hole in the middle of his chest. "I don't think so. You can't be the man I know… used to know." She said the last part softly and looked down. "He is gone." Her glare, or so she tried, turned back to him. "And you are not him."

Hollow was about to say something but he stopped. He leaned back and nodded. "You're probably right. I have no idea who I am." He said as his eyes shifted to stare back up at her.

"You… you don't know who you are?" She asked, clearly intrigued.

He shook his head. "No, I have no memory. None whatsoever. But when I saw the way you looked at me last night I thought you might have known who I am, or once was." His scratchy voice was trailing off as he looked away from her.

"Once was? What do you mean?"

He looked back at her. "I think that I am dead."

Her eyes widened as one small hand came up to her mouth. She felt water coming to her eyes as she looked him over. He had the hair, the right build, the right height, and even his eyes, even though they were different, still held the same look as the person she knew. "You don't know your name?" Her voice started to break.

Hollow was staring at her fully now. Something about him being dead had sparked some memory for her. So he pushed on. "No, I have no memory of my life."

She slowly walked towards him. He didn't dare to move when he saw the same look in her eyes as last night. She was obviously remembering who he was and he waited anxiously. She was very close now, too close for his liking again but he didn't move back this time. She stopped and held up a shaky hand towards his mask. He wanted to grab the same he did last night, but he didn't. He didn't know why but he let her touch his mask. His eyes shifted from her small hand touching his hard mask to her eyes.

"Is that you? Kurosaki-kun?" She asked him. Or so he thought. She might have been asking herself that since he didn't know how to answer.

He gently grabbed her hand and lowered it a bit from his mask and looked her in the eyes. "Do you know who I am?" He asked. The anticipation was killing him. She DID know him and she was about to tell him.

She stared into his eyes for a while. Searching for some sort of deception but she only saw desperation and utter confusion. She lowered her head and blinked the tears, forming up in her eyes, back. She let out a breath and looked back up at him. "Your name is Kurosaki. Ichigo Kurosaki."

And just like that his eyes lit up with victory. So he did have a name. Ichigo Kurosaki was his name. He was right, she knew him after all. But that wasn't enough to satisfy his quench for answers. "What's your name?" He asked rather quickly.

She smiled slightly and he was taken back. Her smile was so warm and inviting. He liked it. It was so much better than the puzzled look she had given him up until now. "My name is Orihime Inoue."

"Inoue…" He repeated. He wasn't expecting a flush of memories to come to him in an instant but it would have been nice. Instead he took every piece of information she gave him and kept it safe. "Inoue, I like it." He said still staring in her eyes.

Orihime blushed and looked away. She hadn't blushed in what seemed like forever. The last person to make her blush was actually Ichigo himself. She giggled a little at her own musing. "Thank you." She looked back up at him when the blush went away. "It really is you Kurosaki-kun." She said happily.

Underneath his mask he knew he was smiling. He only wished that she could see it. Hearing her laugh, even if it was a small giggle was like music. He was so glad that he was here now and that she knew who he was. She was so kind and her smile, it was like one of those angels. "I guess so." He said.

She smiled as she looked into his eyes. She didn't realize it but now they didn't look so scary as they had been before. Her eyes looked at her hand and she instantly froze and blushed again. Hollow, or, Ichigo tilted his head confused then followed her eyes. He saw that he was still holding her hand gently and then let go. He didn't mean to hold it for so long. He brought his hand behind his head and rubbed his hair. "Sorry." He mumbled.

"It's alright." She said looking back at him. "I didn't mind." Ichigo's eyes looked at her in amusement and she began to babble. "I mean I didn't mind that you were holding my hand like that. No wait! I meant that you don't have to apologize, wait, no, yes! Yes that's what I meant hehe." She rambled on looking everywhere but at him.

"Okay, so you don't mind that I hold your hand. Good to know." He said turning his back to her. She buried her face in her hands as she flushed from embarrassment. Ichigo was back for only a few minutes and he was making her embarrassed already. Even if he was a… wait what was he? She looked up to see that he was staring at his own picture on her table.

"So this is me?" He asked looking at his younger, more human, self.

She walked up next to him and looked at it. "Yes, that is you. That was when we were sixteen." She said softly. He nodded silently and looked over his face. It seemed to forever be in that hard scowl, but he could still see the hints of a smile he was offering.

Orihime looked at the side of him with interest. He was definitely something else. "Kurosaki-kun?" She asked.

"Yeah?" His eyes were still glued to the picture of himself.

"What… what are you now?" Ichigo's eyes dropped and he sighed. He turned his body to her and looked back in her eyes.

"I…"

A knocking at the door made Orihime jump and the two of them look at it. "Princess, are you alright? It sound like you're talking to someone in there." The male voice said.

"Yeah I'm fine, just uh talking to myself!" She responded quite hurriedly.

"Okay, well get some rest." The voice said with obvious concern.

She sighed and looked at Ichigo, or the spot Ichigo was at. He wasn't there and she looked all around until she turned around and saw him looking back at her with one foot on the window. "I should go." He said in a commanding voice.

Orihime went to stop him but she knew there was no reasoning with Ichigo when he had that tone of voice. She looked down and nodded. He looked at her a moment longer and then turned to the window. Her head snapped back up at him just as he was about to jump out. She quickly ran over to him. "Kurosaki-kun wait!" He stopped and looked over his shoulder back at her and she got embarrassed by her outburst and looked down at her feet. "Am I going to see you again?" She asked timidly.

Ichigo looked at her with mild amusement. He could tell that she wanted to see him again and soon. That was good, he wanted to see her soon as well. He looked back out the window and said loud enough for her to hear: "I will be back tomorrow night." And with that he jumped out and went out into the night.

* * *

Orihime watched him jump out and ran to the window to see him go. She lost him in the darkness of the night and slumped against the window. Her mind was reeling at the fact that Ichigo was alive, kinda, and she was going to see him again. She smiled looking up at the moon. Her Kurosaki-kun was back. Even if he was whatever he was.

Her heart soared through the night sky as she was unfortunately stuck on the ground. She felt so alive for the first time since he was gone. She had been so numb, so empty. Now with him back some of that emptiness was starting to return.

She felt sorry for him though. He had no memory. She believed it when she saw his eyes. He truly did not know who she was. So he did not recall his past or even his name. Let alone, his family, his life, and… his death. But the thing most on her mind was that he did not remember Orihime's love for him.

He did not remember because she had never told him.

* * *

Fin.

A/N: Aww, she never told him. Are the puzzle pieces making sense yet? Yeah sorry to all you Ichigo/Rukia lovers but I am an Ichigo/Orihime fan. But don't worry, I love all the Bleach characters so no bashing will be involved. In fact I will drop a little fact and tell you that I plan for this to be a multi-pairing fic so look out for that. But I do love Rukia and her character so if you stuck around after finding this out than I can tell that you are not a Ichigo/Orihime hater and that you are at least curious. Well thank you for that and I hope that none of you grow to hate this as I will try my hardest to do justice for the characters while putting my own spin on this story. Also if you didn't guess the ability that Ichigo learned was Flash Step so yeah he knows that but he doesn't know what it's called so now you know and won't be confused by it. Now for an important plot question, what is Kisuke's interest in Orihime and what does he truly know about Ichigo? Find out… soon.

And as always please leave me a review telling me what you think.


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